The huge capacity of thumbdrives has meant that more than just a device to shuffle files between computers and locations. In many instances it is the primary storage device for a lot of important things from work documents to family photos. (I read somewhere that someone has developed a huge 1 terrabyte thumbdrive. For those who are not technically inclined a terrabyte is over 1million megabyes. Or to put in in perspective take an average word document of several pages of text is 1megabyte. A terrabyte therefore allows you to save 1 million different word documents)

Myself personally my thumbdrive is as important as my house set of keys. It goes everywhere with me. Unlike a set of house keys though a thumbdrive does not do well in the rain and it definitely does not do well when tea or coffee is spilt onto the device. Here are some do's and don'ts on how to save a thumbdrive.

What Not To Do When A Thumbdrive is Wet!

- NEVER insert it into a live USB outlet such as a Computer, Tablet, Television set or anywhere that has an electrical current that will enable the USB drive to be turned on.
- Avoid the temptation to dry the flashdrive in direct sunlight or with a hair dryer.

The Correct Way To Save a Wet Thumbdrive

- Allow a flashdrive to dry naturally and away from direct sunlight. Shake off excess water and wipe any visible liquids dry. Depending on how soaked it is make an estimation on the amount of time you think it will take the internal to dry. Now double the amount of time and have the flashdrive standing upwards so that liquids can flow out.

With some luck your flashdrive may work now and it is now the opportunity to quickly back up the files. We recommend not to use the unit anymore and quickly replace it. Please note though different liquids will have different effects on a flashdrive and it will determine if the information stored inside is salvagable.

How To Handle Different Liquid Spills onto a Thumbdrive

Water Spills - The easiest to care for and the above method should work easily and work well.

Tea Spills (with no milk) - Generally the above method should work. If not please check out the method on how to clean out coffee stains.

Coffee Spills - This is when things get difficult. When coffee (or milk tea) dries up it leaves behind residual proteins. These residuals get into small cracks and crevices and literally stops electrical currents from going through the usual route within the USB drive and renders the device seemingly dead. The solution is to crack open the flashdrive casing and with a cotton bud that is slightly moist just dab and wipe off any visual white stains.

Fizzy drinks, Cola or Juices - Possibly the worse type of stain because of the acidic nature of these drinks mean that they can cause corrosion overtime with circuit boards and in the short term they can dislodge physical internal components inside a flashdrive memory (which are cold welded or glued). If this happens the best remedy is to clean with a damp cotton bud immediately and then allow to dry.

We recommend thumbdrives that have gone through spills to be discarded once you have retrieved the valuable data inside or put to some other non essential and non important use. The risk of losing your data is simply too high if they are re-used.